smooth finish for garage floor

[deuce22]

Hi.

 

I'll be ready to pour the oversite for the garage in a couple of weeks and I'm looking for recommendations on the best way to get a smooth finish. The bricklayer is only prepared to tamp it and then use a large float to finish it (he doesn't like power floating). I know it can be power floated, but I've just read vrfdave's post and the last thing I want is to go over somebody's work after I've paid them to do the job. I did use a liquid concrete self levelling product years ago on an extension and that was a pretty good finish.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

[Miek]

I power floated my shed (14x9m) by myself having never done it before. The mix was pumped in and then strike rollered to get it flat. Floating was easy IMO, depending on your expectations for perfection. 

 

How big is your garage?

[joe90]

Power floating is very good IF it’s done at the right time. With my current garage my builder laid the concrete and tamped it flat and I hired a power float and was told to do it the next morning but it only bounced off the surface, it was too late, have regretted it ever since. My previous garage had a polished floor after I power floated that one ?.i don’t understand why your bricklayer does not like power floating ( mind,  he may do a brilliant job with a large float!)

[Carrerahill]

32 minutes ago, deuce22 said:

Hi.

 

I'll be ready to pour the oversite for the garage in a couple of weeks and I'm looking for recommendations on the best way to get a smooth finish. The bricklayer is only prepared to tamp it and then use a large float to finish it (he doesn't like power floating). I know it can be power floated, but I've just read vrfdave's post and the last thing I want is to go over somebody's work after I've paid them to do the job. I did use a liquid concrete self levelling product years ago on an extension and that was a pretty good finish.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

For my garage I just let the concrete boys float it with big blue, left it like that till the bleed water disappeared and I put a very fine broom finish on it with a 3' soft bristle broom, it was pitch black when I did this so I am glad I didn't attempt to float it or I would have been working by headlights! I am happy with it. I the float finished the edges at the door. 

 

How smooth do you want it and do you have a reason for it being smooth? A fine broom finish is pretty smooth really.

 

You could always just let him float it with big blue then let the bleed water go then get out there on boards and hand trowel it smooth if that's what you want. The guy isn't going to care, he just wants to do the simple option, I can't see him taking offence that you want to take your floor to the next level. 

[deuce22]

The total floor area will be around 42m2. The bricky has recently built a garage near near and said that the floor was perfect, it was nowhere near what I would expect. 

 

That is the reason why I don't want to do it. If it's gone off to much, I'll never get it to a decent finish.

 

I've lived in a few properties where the garage floor has just been tamped and then painted and the paint just flakes up on every bit that is protruding slightly. I'm not going to be using it for putting cars in, it'll be more for my gym and I just want a decent surface.

[joe90]

It’s your garage, not the brickies, tell him it will be a gym in reality so you are going to polish it! Full stop. If he takes offence he is not a reasonable chap/contractor. Just make sure it’s laid early am so you have time to polish it (without working in the dark!!!)

[PeterW]

If it’s going to be a gym, have you considered putting insulation under the floor ..? Even with a. 150mm reinforced slab you would be able to stick a car on it with EPS under it. 

[jack]

1 hour ago, deuce22 said:

... it'll be more for my gym and I just want a decent surface.

 

It depends on what you'll be doing in the gym, but concrete flooring by itself will be cold, hard, noisy and liable to chipping/cracking/wear if you drop things like weights onto it.

 

I've been down this rabbit hole recently for a garage gym area, and decided that plastic floor covering was probably the best option overall. You just need to slab to be flat and reasonably smooth, then seal it and cover it with suitable flooring. From my research, this stuff seems to be decent.

[deuce22]

I wasn't planning on putting insulation under the slab and didn't think it would make much difference as there won't be any heating. It's a double block cavity wall (with no insulation) up to first floor height. I will then use insulation in the wall and floor for the living space above. Is there any reason why I should insulate the slab and walls of the garage?  I have a lifting platform for where I will train, so there's no worries about damaging the floor, the rest of the area will be to store things. I just want it to look decent and not like a standard garage where you can see the ripples from it being tamped.

[PeterW]

I would insulate all walls regardless as it is a small cost and a huge benefit

[joe90]

It depends if the door is insulated/ draghtproof .

[deuce22]

I'm just going off past experience. I've been in a detached single block garage and an integrated insulated cavity block garage in the winter (neither with heating) and there was not much difference between the two. Are there other benefits other than heat loss? Are there details to suggest there's a benefit even without heating?

 

Thanks.

[deuce22]

I'm not sure if the garage door will be insulated, but I will definitely have it draught proof.

 

[Onoff]

If putting insulation in the floor you could even run pipes for future UFH!

[nod]

Brickie won’t want to powerfloat as it may mean him coming back later that evening

 

Ive used a round hole tamper Helps level and brings it up to a nice finish Good enough to tile 

So should be ok for a garage finish 

But it would mean you going on it while it’s being laid 

 nice sloppy mix like for footings 

[deuce22]

Thanks. I've got a few things to think about.

[Temp]

Don't make floor too smooth.. One house we purchased had a tiled floor and a hole in the back wall because the previous owner had driven in a bit too fast in the wet :-)

[Pete]

23 hours ago, joe90 said:

Power floating is very good IF it’s done at the right time. With my current garage my builder laid the concrete and tamped it flat and I hired a power float and was told to do it the next morning but it only bounced off the surface, it was too late, have regretted it ever since. My previous garage had a polished floor after I power floated that one ?.i don’t understand why your bricklayer does not like power floating ( mind,  he may do a brilliant job with a large float!)

I'm in the same boat with my garage floor. The power screed fell to bits on the day we poured and it cut along story short my floor is like the surface of the moon. ?

[PeterW]

You can get self leveling compounds that are suitable as a wearing surface. And apparently the trick to getting the floor level with it and very few joins is mix the compound 4 or 5 bags at a time in a plastic dustbin ..!! 

[Jeremy Harris]

I remember an old vehicle workshop at Warminster having the old concrete floor levelled and sealed with some sort of epoxy compound.  It was tough, but very slightly resilient, self-levelling and also able to fill minor surface imperfections.  Looked very impressive when it had been done, and the people working there reckoned it was a lot kinder on their feet.  Not sure what it was, but it went on as a layer maybe 3mm to 5mm thick at a guess.

[Mr Punter]

A bull floated finish should be fine if he is any good.  Do not let it dry out too quickly.  Cover with plastic sheet.

[Onoff]

Use screeding rails to tamp with. My wet concrete floor came out flat and level enough to tile straight onto.

 

(Pity my tiling's sh!t ?)